
Grass Lake School News
May 9, 2024
Starting next year, we're aiming to create two Family Nights tailored to your needs and interests. Whether it's tips on supporting your child in school, navigating social media, engaging in community services, or enjoying fun activities like escape rooms and bingo nights, the possibilities are endless! To plan these evenings, we value your feedback and invite you to a meeting on May 14, 2024, at 6:00 pm in the GLS library. Our NJHS members will be there to assist with childcare for children ages 3 and up, and we'll provide light snacks and refreshments. All student and family input is appreciated. Please fill out the form above so we can plan accordingly and mark your calendars for this collaborative effort to make our school community even stronger!
A Note From Mr. Wollberg
What a great week to be a BRAVE! First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who was able to join Mrs. Moe last Saturday to paint the wall with us! The students did an amazing job painting and beautifying the half wall outside the gymnasium and if you have not seen it yet, I encourage you to come by and see it. Pictures do not do justice to the amazing job by all involved and thank you to Mrs. Moe for planning such a fun event!
Last Saturday, we also had 10 athletes qualify for state in 9 different events! We could not have asked for a better outcome as this is the most in Grass Lake School History! The following athletes are heading downstate this weekend!
Gabby Thivierge- Long Jump (1st place)
Brooklyn Michael- Discus (1st place)
Natalia Conrad- High Jump (1st place)
Ewa Bomba- Shot Put (1st place)
Tanner Ludwig- Shot Put & Discus (1st place in both)
Stella Beyers- Discus (2nd Place)
Aiden McLaughlin- Shot Put & 4x100 Relay (1st place)
Salazar Villalpando- 4x100 Relay (1st place)
Bo Bomba- 4x100 Relay (1st place)
Logan Lennon- Long Jump, 100, & 4x100 (1st place in all 3!)
We need to acknowledge the outstanding performances by:
Rose Fogel- 3rd place in Long Jump, 9th place in 100 meter dash
Mara Quezada- 3rd Place in Shot Put
Josh Davis- 3rd Place Hurdles
Jack Dawson- 12th place 100 meter dash
We competed against 13 schools with a total of 14 athletes and overall we finished:
4th Place for 7th grade girls
4th Place for 8th grade girls
3rd Place for 8th grade boys
Beginning next week, all students will participate in the Measure of Academic Performance Tests or MAP Tests. Students will be taking 2 tests focused on reading and mathematics to evaluate their current academic standing. Should you need specific dates/times, your child’s teacher can provide specifics for both tests. Please know that children will not take more than one test session each day. Non-testing days and the remainder of testing days will be devoted to instruction.
You can help your child do his/her best on MAP or any assessment by doing the following:
Make sure that your child attends school on the days of testing.
Ensure he/she receives a good nights sleep the night before testing.
Provide breakfast on the mornings of testing (snacks will not be provided due to allergies).
Let him/her know that you have confidence in his/her ability to do his/her best.
Advise him/her not to worry about the test and to do the best he/she can.
Feel free to contact your child’s teacher or me if you desire additional information or have further questions about the MAP assessment.
Please see below for important dates, and we look forward to seeing everyone tonight for our Fine Arts Night/PBL Showcase!
GLS Fine Arts Night/PBL Showcase
When: May 9, 2024, from 5:30-7:30 pm (Students should arrive in the gym by 5:15)
Where: GLS
Who: Students in grades K-5 will participate in the performance as well as our Band Students. After that, all grade levels Pre-K through Eighth Grade will have their latest PBL on display.
What: Get ready for an electrifying evening at Grass Lake School! Our gymnasium will light up with our Kindergarten through Fifth-grade students' dazzling performances in our inaugural Glow Show!! Encourage your child to dress in vibrant, glow-in-the-dark colors that will shine under the black light, and we invite all audience members and guests to join in the glow as well!
Right after the performance, prepare to be amazed as we showcase the latest and most impressive PBL (Project-Based Learning) projects from all grades! Our students and staff have dedicated themselves to crafting meaningful and captivating public products, and now you can see their hard work on display throughout the school. Join us for what promises to be an unforgettable evening celebrating our students' achievements and the power of hands-on learning!
Sports Banquet
When: May 15, 2024, from 3:15-5:00 pm
Where: GLS Gymnasium
Who: Students in grades 5-8
What: A celebration of all GLS achievements in sports. Invites will be sent in the coming days.
All School Awards Assembly
When: Thursday, May 30, 2024, at 1:00 pm
Where: Grass Lake School
Who: Students in grades 3-8 who are eligible for an award. Parents will be personally notified if their child will receive an award.
What: An opportunity for all students and staff to celebrate our student successes throughout the year. Please also note, this will be the last day of school for all 8th-grade students. All 8th grade students can join us on Friday, May 31, 2024, if they choose to help with Field Day and we ask that students make prior arrangements with Mrs. Juszczyk.
8th Grade Graduation
When: Friday, May 31, at 6:00 pm (The graduation will once again be held outdoors, weather permitting. In the event we have to move it indoors to our gymnasium, we will begin at 6:30 pm).
Where: Grass Lake School
Who: All School and Family Members
What: Our final farewell to our graduating class of 2024 from GLS!
We're thrilled about these upcoming events and will keep you updated. Thank you, as always, for your help and support. I hope everyone has a great weekend and we look forward to seeing everyone next week!
Sincerely,
Ryan Wollberg
Principal/Grass Lake School
Specials in the Spotlight
Student Athlete Newsletter
Varsity Tutors
Thanks to an investment by the Lake County Regional Office of Education through June 30, 2027, every student in Grass Lake School now has access to the Varsity Tutors for Schools platform. This access includes:
24/7 On-Demand Chat Tutoring
On-Demand Essay Review
100+ Weekly Live Classes
Recorded Enrichment Classes
Self-Study & Practice Resources
Here is a pamphlet and a video that provides an overview of the platform's features. Students can go to their Clever Dashboard and select the Varsity Tutors icon to log in to the platform. Any chat sessions students participate in are recorded and posted on their dashboard for future reference. We hope you find this new tool useful and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Attendance Matters
I continue to have conversations with families about when to send their children to school and when to keep them home. Grass Lake encourages you to send your child to school every day, unless they are exhibiting one or more of the following symptoms:
- The student has a temperature consistently above 100 even when taking medication in the last 24 hours.
- The student is throwing up or experiencing diarrhea in the last 24 hours.
- The student has pink eyes that are crusty and not receiving medication for them for 24 hours.
While this list is not all-inclusive your help is appreciated as even missing 2 days a month equates to missing almost 10% of the school year. Also, as a reminder, any absence due to illness which lasts for more than three consecutive days may be verified by a medical note, which must be produced within two days of the student’s return for the absence to be considered excused. Thank you for your help!
Virtual Suggestion Box
"No school can work well for children if parents and teachers do not act in partnership on behalf of the children's best interests" - Dorothy H. Cohen
School Breakfast/Lunch
Student Absences
Grass Lake School hours of attendance are 7:45 a.m. until 2:45 p.m. on regular schedule days and 7:45 a.m. until 1:15 p.m. on early release late-start days. An answering machine will take messages during the hours when the school office is closed. When reporting an absence please indicate the reason for the absence and if it is due to illness, please report symptoms including if your child has a fever, cough, or sore throat. This will assist the district in assessing when a student will return and whether it must comply with any reporting or notice requirements.
The telephone number to report absences is: (847) 395-1550 or via email attendance@gls36.org.
We have created an email address to allow you to "email" attendance information. This is an alternative to using the Attendance Hotline phone number or using the Infinite Campus portal. We wanted to create yet another option to allow busy parents the opportunity to report absences. Please email all pertinent information to attendance@gls36.org. If you choose to use this option, pertinent information would include your child's name, date, grade, and reason for the absence, late-arrival or early-dismissal. Please choose the option that works best for you, whether that be email, phone or IC portal.
If the school has not heard from you and your child is absent, you will receive a call to verify the absence. School code provides that parents/guardians/other persons having legal custody of a child provide telephone numbers at the time of enrollment to enable the school to notify the parent/guardian/other person with legal custody of the child’s absence from school. Accordingly, this verification of absence call will be made to the numbers provided at registration and not necessarily the parents’ places of employment.
Parent Drop Off and Pick Up Procedures
Below you will find a map for your convenience as it relates to our drop-off and pick-up procedures. If you plan on picking your child up early from school, we kindly ask you to email your child's teacher as well as Cristina Monroy, our administrative assistant. When you enter the building for early pick or late drop off this should all be done through our main entrance. Make sure to have your ID when picking your child up as we want to make sure we are sending your child home with an approved individual.
When your child is dropped off they will enter through our gymnasium doors and in the afternoon they will exit through those same doors (yellow box below). Please wait in your car and we will release students to you as fast as we can. Again, I do ask for your patience at the beginning of the year but I promise you, it will continue to get faster and faster. Also, please do not drop off your child until the gymnasium doors open at 7:30 am.
Grass Lake School District #36
GRASS LAKE SCHOOL
26177 W. Grass Lake Rd. Antioch, IL 60002
Phone: (847) 395-1550 | Fax: (847) 395-8632
Email: rwollberg@gls36.org
Website: www.gls36.org
Location: Grass Lake School District 36, West Grass Lake Road, Antioch, IL, USA
Phone: 847-395-1550